Reviews : Academy F-4C USAF VIETNAMESE WAR

The Academy 1/48 F-C Vietnam War, #12294 was initially released in 2013 according to the Scalemates website. In the past, the gold standard kits of this aircraft were the Hasegawa 1/48 Phantom II kits. Several years ago, I built their Wild Weasel Phantom G kit which was an excellent kit for its time. I am happy to report that the Academy 1/48 F-4 Phantom II series of kits have surpassed those kits in level of detail and kit engineering. A major improvement is due to the slide molded fuselage body which eliminates the seam line running along the spine of the model. The rivet detail on the aircraft fuselage and wing surfaces is also more extensive then is found on Hasegawa and the newer Meng Phantom II kits. Although the price point on this kit has been increasing, I still consider this kit to be good value for what it costs. The kit includes two seated pilot figures and an additional standing pilot figure. This kit also includes a full load out of weapons options including a gun pod. Another nice touch is the inclusion of decals printed by Cartograf. The builder will receive decal markings for the aircraft flown by the famous pilot Colonel Robin Olds. A second decal sheet includes a comprehensive set of stencil marking decals which will take several hours to apply to this model. Even the smallest stencil marking decals include legible text. Make sure you have a magnifying glass, toothpick, precision tweezers and micro scissors to get them on your model. Micro Set and Micro Sol decal setting solutions are highly recommended for decal application for this build. When painting this kit, Tamiya Masking Tape is highly recommended when masking off the bare metal areas of this aircraft. When painting the multi color Southeast Asian camouflage pattern, I used my Iwata HP-C Plus airbrush at 20 PSI with a 0.3 mm needle. For the under surfaces of this aircraft, I used Vallejo Model Color, Silver Grey 70.883. For the three camouflage colors on the upper surfaces of the aircraft I used Vallejo Model Color Refractive Green, 70.890, Vallejo Model Air USAF Green 71.124, and Vallejo Model Air USAF Brown 71.125. For the jet nozzles and heat shield surfaces, I used Vallejo Metal Color Burnt Iron, 77.721. Due to the complex 3-part canopy, I used a Montex Mini Mask for the Academy 1/48 kit, Item Code SM 48385. A weak point of this kit is the poor fit of the clear canopy parts if the builder opts to build the kit with the pilots seated in model with the canopy in the closed position. I had to file off some of the seat detail off the tops of the seats and the pilot helmets to permit the canopy pieces to fit imperfectly over the cockpit opening. I used Micro Krystal Klear to install all of the clear plastic parts on this model. Prior to applying the decals to this model, I sealed the paint with a water-resistant acrylic matte finish from a spray can. After applying the many decals on this model, I then sealed them under a coat of Future. After the Future was cured, I applied another coat of the matte acrylic clear from a spray can. Due to the complex camouflage paint scheme on this aircraft model and the extensive stencil decal sheet, I would recommend this excellent kit for intermediate to advanced model builders with airbrushing skills. Be prepared to spend a great deal of time on this one. With time and patience, an excellent result can be achieved, and you will have a great addition to your USAF Vietnam era military aircraft model collection.

Another excellent F-4 offering from Academey, this is the F-4C USAF version of the earlier F-4B VF-111 F-4B kit. The kit offers the same one piece upper fuselage as the B model kit. It offers very nice recessed panel lines and rivet detail. It offers the larger, wider tread tires used by Air Force Phantoms. The tires are in two pices with seperat wheel hubs, which will make painting easier. It offers a nice amount of weapons and drop tanks. Fit of parts is excellent, and should not offer any problems. Clear parts are good. Cockpit detail is excellent with finely raised details on the instrument panels and side consoles. Careful painting and dry brushing should make these details stand out nicely. Like the B model the kit offers full intake details all the way to the engine faces.The decal shhet is very nice and offers markings for the aircraft flown by MAJ. Steve Ritchie. Eduard offers a PE cockpit set for this kit also.I would recommend this kit.

Went together with good fit. If using Gun Pods on wing Pylons & Missles the Launcher extentions are just a little short,the missle wings rub the pod.